Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Theodosius Dobzhansky

Quote by Theodosius Dobzhansky

“Does the evolutionary doctrine clash with religious faith? It does not. It is a blunder to mistake the Holy Scriptures for elementary textbooks of astronomy, geology, biology, and anthropology.”

Quote by Theodosius Dobzhansky

Create image

Author

Theodosius Dobzhansky
Theodosius Dobzhansky

Theodosius Dobzhansky (1900-1975) was a pioneering Ukrainian-American evolutionary geneticist and one of the founding figures of the modern synthesis in evolutionary biology. His groundbreaking work "Genetics and the Origin of Species" (1937) revolutionized the integration of Mendelian genetics with Darwinian evolution. Through his research on Drosophila fruit flies, Dobzhansky demonstrated the genetic mechanisms underlying speciation and natural selection. His famous assertion that "Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution" became one of the most influential statements in science. He taught at Columbia University and the University of California, mentoring generations of geneticists and profoundly shaping 20th-century biology. more

You May Also Like

“Evolution has encountered no intellectual trouble; no new arguments have been offered. Creationism is a home-grown phenomenon of American sociocultural history-a splinter movement ... who believe that every word in the Bible must be literally true, whatever such a claim might mean.”

BelieveMeanHas BeensHomeMightScienceReligionBeliefTroubleMovementEvolutionIntellectualArgumentClaimsPhenomenonCreationismSplinters
Book:Leonardo's Mountain of Clams and the Diet of Worms
Create image

“Evolution has no long-term goal. There is no long-distance target, no final perfection to serve as a criterion for selection, although human vanity cherishes the absurd notion that our species is the final goal of evolution.”

HumansLongScienceGoalTermEvolutionPerfectionDistanceSpeciesNotionFinalsAbsurdVanityLong TermTargetCherishSelectionCriteriaLong DistanceLong Term Goals
Book:The Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe without Design
Create image

“Few scientists acquainted with the chemistry of biological systems at the molecular level can avoid being inspired. Evolution has produced chemical compounds exquisitely organized to accomplish the most complicated and delicate of tasks. Many organic chemists viewing crystal structures of enzyme systems or nucleic acids and knowing the marvels of specificity of the immune systems must dream of designing and synthesizing simpler organic compounds that imitate working features of these naturally occurring compounds.”

DreamScienceLevelsKnowingDesignEvolutionTasksScientistStructureInspiredComplicatedAccomplishFeaturesOrganizedChemistryChemicalsDelicateCrystalsAcidImmuneCompoundsImmune SystemChemistSpecificityEnzymesChemical CompoundsOrganic Compounds
Author:Donald Cram
Create image

“Five per cent vision is better than no vision at all. Five per cent hearing is better than no hearing at all. Five per cent flight efficiency is better than no flight at all. It is thoroughly believable that every organ or apparatus that we actually see is the product of a smooth trajectory through animal space, a trajectory in which every intermediate stage assisted survival and reproduction.”

ScienceSpaceAnimalVisionFiveStageProductsEvolutionSurvivalHearingFlightOrgansCentsEfficiencySmoothReproductionBelievableTrajectory
Book:The Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe without Design
Create image

“For my own part I would as soon be descended from that heroic little monkey, who braved his dreaded enemy in order to save the life of his keeper; or from that old baboon, who, descending from the mountains, carried away in triumph his young comrade from a crowd of astonished dogs-as from a savage who delights to torture his enemies, offers up bloody sacrifices, practices infanticide without remorse, treats his wives like slaves, knows no decency, and is haunted by the grossest superstitions.”

KnowsLittlesYoungOrderMy OwnEnemyPracticeWifeSacrificeDogEvolutionOffersMountainTreatsSlaveCrowdsDelightTriumphTortureHeroicSuperstitionsBloodySavagesMonkeysRemorseDecencyComradeKeepersCarried AwayDescendingBaboonsInfanticide
Author:Charles Darwin
Create image